road trip 2022 - day 11 Jasper

Finally, a sunny day! It made such a difference driving west towards Jasper, and having morning sun on the wall of mountains looming before me. 

After coffee in Jasper, my first stop was Mt. Edith Cavell. To get there you take the secondary Highway 93a just south of Jasper, and then turn onto a long, steep winding road. When you reach in the parking lot, you are in the alpine, and a short walk through glacial moraine takes you to a view of the mountain. There are other trails that I wanted to explore. Some were closed, but there was a climber's route that takes you up some steep snow fields and loose rock, and I climbed that way for a while to get some different views.

Hanging off the side of the mountain is the Cavell glacier, and below it there is a turquoise lake with glacial meltwater and chunks of ice.

I started a sketch of the glacier, that I finished later in the day.

I continued south down Highway 93a, which runs parallel to the main Highway 93, until Athabasca Falls. It is a narrow, single lane highway with no shoulder, and is fairly quiet. As I came around a bend in the road, I saw a black bear just starting to cross the highway. Fortunately, I guess bears are smarter than deer, since when he saw me he stepped back, waited for me to pass, then continued crossing. Whew!

The next stop was Athabasca Falls, where all the water of the Athabasca river funnels into a narrow canyon creating a very powerful waterfall.

From there I went back northward toward Jasper, up the main Highway 93, to the Valley of the Five Lakes hiking trail. This valley has a lush environment with different types of trees, so completely different from the alpine I saw earlier today. The hike is a loop that takes you to each of the lakes, with beautiful views of the lakes and the surrounding mountains. 

Finally, I went into Jasper, and had a beer at Jasper Brewing while I worked on my drawing.